I'm thinking of starting to drink coffee. How or should I start?

Don’t start with expensive stuff. Not even Starbucks.

Just go some place and ask for a cup of coffee. Some tastes you will like. Some will be too strong, while others will be too weak. Find one that you like.

See if you like it black, or with cream, or sugar, or both. Again, it’s your taste.

See if at affects your sleeping (caffeine) or not. At least at first, only drink it before noon.

Be aware that – especially in quantity, like more than 3 cups /day – coffee can affect your stomach and create all sorts of problems.

In my opinion, there is no difference between a dollar cup of coffee and a $10 cup, except the price. Of course there will be plenty of snobs and pseudo-experts who will disagree, but that’s my opinion.

@elbanditoroso I will order coffee the next time I eat out. In the place of pop. Edited.

Coffee will likely have less sugar than pop, even if you add sugar. You can try it and count the teaspoons and see how it winds up. I think you’ll want some sugar in it.

Coffee has more caffeine than pop, so you need to cut the liquid in half, and maybe drink water to replace the rest of your beverage needs. Or, you could drink half decaf half regular.

If you just want to get a “feel” (so to speak) of how coffee tastes you can get decaf. Most diner-type restaurants offer coffee (both regular and decaf) as a rule. Generally you don’t even need to order it, the waitress will walk up with a pot of both and offer.

Anyway, like I said, you can get the decaf. That way if you’re just not digging it you can still have your pop without having to worry about getting too much caffeine.

Considering your fondness for sugary drinks you’re probably not going to like your coffee “black” (that is with nothing added) at first. You’ll likely find it almost unbearably bitter (as I recall, you don’t like dark chocolate for this reason, because of the relative bitterness). Fortunately, you can add cream and sugar to your own taste. When I first started drinking coffee I use to ply it with so much creamer and sugar that was almost white in color. Now I’ll use one packet of sugar. (That said, coffee’s not something I drink regularly, usually only when I’m at a diner. At home I’ll make a cup of tea.)

I have never been a coffee drinker. I would advise against starting. Coffee is in danger of extinction. CNN reported on this just last month.

If you want an alternative to soda, there are plenty of alternatives. You could go water, juice, or milk, or tea, if you are looking for a substitute with caffeine.

Screw Starbucks. Go to your best breakfast diner in town and get a cup of black coffee. Don’t add a thing. You’ll either love it or hate it.

Get a moka pot, an electric grinder, some beans, and start brewing.

You could consider going off caffeine. I drink decaf tea. I drink the instant half the time. I use very little, making it very light. Why be addicted? It is hard to quit though. You need to decrease your intake over a few days and suffer the headaches and feeling like garbage for several days.

If you wind up adding milk to your coffee, now you are adding fat and cholesterol that was not in your pop. It might be minimal, it just friends how heavy your hand is with the stuff.

I’m glad I never formed a coffee habit.

By the way I gave up caffeinated pop 20 years ago and I still miss it, and I still love it when I cheat.

I would be careful. Caffeine is a pretty strong drug and can give you insomnia.

Don’t start. You almost certainly have bad habits enough. No point in cultivating another expensive addiction.

If you live in an area with several coffee shops easily available try their coffee first. See if you like how they concoct coffee.

Due to the nature of my work and the way I conduct my personal life I often get coffee from places like Starbucks, Peet’s Coffe and smaller but equally atractive competition. The sofas look and feel nice enough to be sitting and reading traps.

I also get my coffee at home, mostly instant this time. At work I have an espresso maker called Bialetti. I buy my coffee grounds from places like SB and Dunkin Donuts.

Imo, it’s true, Dunkin is America’s favorite coffee. I know I’m going to regret it but when they ask if I like cream and sugar I’d say yes. And it’s good coffee. ( which means good sugar and creamer ) lol

Also 7–11 has a nice roster of coffees.

When you find yourself collecting your own coffee mugs, that’s when you might consider yourself a coffee addict. Btw, we have a Fluther mug. : )

Bear in mind too that you could probably feed yourself for a day for the price of one Starbucks Veranda Blend Cinnamon Dolce Syrup Latte Grande.

My opinion to those who have not started drinking coffee is to not start drinking coffee. It’s addictive. Additionally, since it sounds like you drink sugary beverages, you’d likely carry that habit over to coffee as well, creating an unhealthy addiction.

Water is the best beverage. It’s better than coffee in every way. I recommend starting to drink water instead!

I love coffee. Its a good energy boost, can stimulate your bowels, and is just a good thing in small doses. Being sensitive to caffeine, I can have more than a few morning cups or I get really wired.

@Ragingloli is right, grind the beans and brew it up.

@hmmmmmm He’s already addicted to caffeine.

^ His “pop” consumption might result in a couple of 40mg hits of caffeine, and unless he’s consuming the good chocolate (70%+ dark), you’re not looking at much from chocolate. If he were to start consuming coffee (350mg+ per cup of Starbucks, for example) his addiction would mean actual side-effects when not consuming it. Currently, it appears that the addiction is to sugar – not caffeine. Water is the way to go.

If only there were some form of coffee that contained no caffeine…

@hmmmmmm I’d bet a lot of money he feels his withdrawal if he doesn’t consume his pop. Don’t underestimate the caffeine in soda. Most people don’t just drink 8 oz of soda.

#1: check if caffeine will effect your medications adversely.

#2: the coffee industry is not sustainable as is. It exploits the land and labor.

#3: coffee is yummy and smells like heaven. You don’t have to be addicted. I have coffee a few times a month and I wouldn’t give it up for the world.

I walked by the restaurant and went past to a grocery store and got milk and watermelon juice instead. I don’t want coffee anymore. I will wait till next time. I might consider drinking tea instead of coffee. Thanks all.

^^Wuuuut??? Get coffee! lol

Yayyyyy! Common sense wins!

“Common sense”? Nah. Probably just an aversion to stepping outside his comfort zone.*

(*Not a criticism, I totally get it.)